Rome (AFP)
The Italian national team suffered a new setback after announcing on Saturday that two defenders had been injured and the third of its ranks had left, ahead of the decisive “Azuri’s” victory against Northern Ireland in the third group of the last tenth round of the European qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The European champion announced that Davide Calabria (AC Milan) and Alessandro Bastoni (Inter) did not recover, while Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina) left the team camp.
Calabria participated in the last ten minutes of his team’s match against Switzerland 1-1 Friday in Rome, which saw Jorginho miss a penalty kick again in the last minute, but was injured in his right calf, while Biraghi remained on the bench in front of “Nati”, before leaving the camp. The national team is for “personal reasons,” according to the local football association.
On the other hand, Bastoni’s absence, whose name was not included by coach Roberto Mancini in the list of participants against Switzerland, continues, as he did not recover from an injury he suffered in the Milan derby last Sunday, where he still feels muscle fatigue, according to the local press.
These absences add to a large list of injured players who left the national team this week, and they are its captain Giorgio Chiellini, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolo Zaniolo, in addition to other players who were not called up, Leonardo Spinazola, Marco Verratti and Moise Kean.
Mancini had to summon Sassuolo defender Jean Marco Ferrari (29 years, one international match) on Friday, and Atalanta winger Davide Tsabacosta (29 years, 13 caps) Saturday to make up for the new absences.
Italy, which hosts Northern Ireland on Monday, is at the top of Group C with 15 points, with a difference of goals from Switzerland, which hosts Bulgaria.
.